From Malibu in the Bushes to Mojitos in the Garden: A Scottish Rum Journey

It was the summer of 1982. My French exchange student, Emmanuelle, was staying with me in Chiswick, and the annual summer fête in leafy St Peter’s Square was in full swing. Under the balmy afternoon sun, my school friend Sonia and I pottered about the stalls. With my pocket money, I bought a tombola ticket and won a bottle of Malibu. Let’s just say we crept into a bush to try it, and I haven’t drunk it since.

As a teenager, my drink of choice shifted to Bacardi and Coke. It was the ultimate symbol of Caribbean cool, fitting perfectly with the music I loved. What we consume—from food and drink to clothing and interiors—is a profound expression of how we present ourselves to the world. At that age, it’s all about curating an image. Inviting friends over to listen to records, gossip, swap clothes, and experiment with makeup (and sometimes pierce each other’s ears) was integral to navigating those tricky years of self-discovery.

My room reflected this eclectic experimentation. It was decorated with treasures found in the street, like old signs and a traffic cone. My mum and I lino-printed old sheets with blue palm trees for curtains, and a metal swallow bought at a local jumble sale held pride of place on the wall.

The Evolution of Social Spaces

Nowadays, my own children are long past their teenage years, yet I still love nothing more than gathering friends for fun. In winter, we make cocktails, dance, gossip, and swap clothes, revelling in a feeling of agelessness for a night. In summer, here in Scotland, we know how to make the most of sunny weather when it arrives. Living here demands spontaneity.

When my kids were little, the garden was their domain. I inherited it quite overgrown and bursting with trees, which suited my two boys perfectly. They built camps, played ball games in makeshift clearings, watched birds, and climbed trees. At one point, my eldest even transformed it into a one-hole golf course complete with a bunker. It was super fun for them, but it wasn’t a place for tranquil socialising.

A few years ago, with the kids having flown the nest, I decided to bite the bullet and get the garden sorted. I admit I have very little idea of how to design a garden, so I enlisted the help of the amazing garden designer, Sarah Jane Kerr of Shelloch Garden Design. I had a brief but no idea how to execute it. I wanted to retain a wild woodland feeling, use native plants, encourage wildlife, and divide the sloping, 80ft long, north-facing front garden into a series of "rooms"—unsurprising perhaps for an interior designer!

The result exceeded my hopes: a shaded area under a pergola for hot days, a grassy lounge for sunbathing, and an oval deck under the trees, all connected by curved raised walkways that leave the forest floor undisturbed. Sometimes, on a weekday break in the clouds, I run outside with a book and a cuppa for a moment of peace. Many impromptu weekend days are now spent with friends sipping cool drinks in the dappled shade, watching long-tailed tits natter noisily in the branches. Getting my garden right has been like adding rooms to my flat.

Introducing ACJ White Rum: A Spirit of Place

So, when John McIlvogue approached me to collaborate on a Glasgow-distilled spirit, the connection was obvious. It had to be a white rum, bridging the twin associations of my misspent youth and my love of all things maritime. I wanted to create something that used native plants, quintessentially Scottish yet perfect for a mojito.

After extensive testing and tasting, we settled on a unique botanical combination: mint, heather, elderberry, and nettle. All of these have grown in my garden over the years. While it tastes great with Coke, my favourite serve is the recipe created by Sia, mixologist at the House of Gods Hotel in Glasgow: a passionfruit mojito.

The Signature ACJ Passionfruit Mojito

Ingredients:
*   37.5 ml ACJ White Rum
*   12.5 ml Passoa
*   Seeds of 1 passionfruit (muddled)
*   12.5 ml sugar syrup
*   6 mint leaves
*   12.5 ml lime juice

Method:
Build directly in the glass. Add ice and mildly muddled mint. Stir gently and enjoy in your own garden "room."

You can find this small-batch, fully Scottish-distilled botanical rum at oldandrarewhisky.co.uk

 

photo by @cursetheseeyes